Splash shield for electric motor

Abstract

A splash shield for an electric motor, particularly a squirrel cage motor with a die cast rotor. The rotor has a circular flange extending endwise from one or both end faces of the rotor. Each of these flanges is intergally die cast with the end ring of the rotor body so as to surround and to overlie an oil reservoir within the motor thereby to sling or otherwise deflect water which is splashed into the motor away from the oil reservoir.

I claim: 
     
       1. In an electric motor comprising a stator assembly including a stator core, a bore through said core, an end shield operatively attached to each end of said stator assembly, a rotor assembly including a rotor shaft and a rotor affixed to and rotatable with said shaft, said rotor being rotatable with the bore of said stator core, bearing means supported by said end shields for journalling said rotor shaft, and a lubricant reservoir adjacent at least one of said bearing means and surrounding said rotor shaft for supplying lubricant to said one bearing means, wherein the improvement comprises: means for inhibiting water splashed into said motor from entering said lubricant reservoir, said splash inhibiting means including a continuous flange carried by said rotor at one end thereof and facing toward said one bearing means, said flange being concentric with said rotor shaft, being disposed on the outside of said lubricant reservoir, and extending endwise from said rotor a distance sufficient to surround and to substantially overlie said lubricant reservoir. 
     
     
       2. In an electric motor as set forth in claim 1 wherein said rotor is a die cast squirrel cage rotor having an end ring, and wherein said flange is intergally die cast with said rotor and forms a part of the end ring of the rotor. 
     
     
       3. In an electric motor as set forth in claim 1 having a lubricant reservoir for each of said bearings, said rotor having one of said flanges on each end face thereof so as to at least substantially protect each of said lubricant reservoirs from having water splashed therein. 
     
     
       4. A rotor for a squirrel cage electric motor, the latter having one or more bearings for journalling said rotor within said motor and a lubricant reservoir adjacent a respective bearing for supplying lubricant to its respective bearing, said rotor being of die cast construction and having a plurality of rotor bars of die cast metal extending substantially longitudinally therethrough and an integrally die cast end ring at each end of the rotor for short circuiting each of said rotor bars, at least one of said end rings having a water splash shield integrally cast therewith, said water splash shield being concentric with the longitudinal axis of said rotor and having a continuous surface, said water splash shield further extending endwise from said rotor a distance sufficient to permit such continuous surface to inhibit the splashing of water into said lubricant reservoir when said rotor is mounted in a motor and when said reservoir is at least partially surrounded within said water splash shield.